Brazil must reform or become next Venezuela, says Jair Bolsonaro

Markets are eyeing the pension reform closely because of its potential to help narrow a gaping budget deficit

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro pledged swift and sweeping measures to fix the economy and prevent Latin America’s largest nation from turning into a Venezuela-style regime.
 
Plans to sell a large number of state-owned companies are nearly ready, and a proposal to be sent to Congress will bring “substantial” cuts to pension outlays and establish a minimum retirement age, Bolsonaro said on Wednesday in Davos in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait. He said the approval of the pension reform investors are eagerly awaiting is practically certain as Brazil’s financial situation gives it little choice.
 
“There’s an